Community-Based Web Filtering

1. A system for generating community-based rating information concerning network-accessible content, comprising: a Web server comprising at least one hardware processing unit and a memory, the Web server configured to display to a first user a community-based rating of at least one of a Web site or a Web page accessed by the first user over the network and to receive user feedback from the first user regarding the at least one of the Web site or the Web page; a rating server coupled to the Web server, the rating server configured to automatically generate an initial community-based rating concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page, to analyze the user feedback from the first user in conjunction with user feedback provided by other users concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page, wherein performing the analysis includes weighing user feedback provided by a user belonging to the same group as the first user heavier than user feedback provided by a user not belonging to the same group as the first user, and to automatically generate updated community-based rating information concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page based on the analysis; and a rating database coupled to the rating server, the rating database configured to store the updated community-based rating information for use in the performance of a Web filtering operation that includes either satisfying or denying subsequent user requests for the at least one of the Web site or the Web page.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the user feedback relates to the appropriateness of the at least one of the Web site or the Web page for children.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the Web server is further configured to provide the first user with an interface by which to provide the user feedback.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the interface is configured to display a current community-based rating associated with the at least one of the Web site or the Web page.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rating server is further configured to validate the user feedback provided by the first user.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rating server is further configured to automatically generate the initial community-based rating concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page using an automated software tool.

7. A method for performing Web filtering based on community-based content rating information, comprising: automatically generating an initial community-based rating concerning at least one of a Web site or a Web page; receiving, by a Web server, user feedback from a first user regarding the at least one of the Web site or the Web page; analyzing, by a rating server, the user feedback from the first user in conjunction with user feedback provided by other users concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page to generate community-based rating information, the analyzing including weighting user feedback provided by a user belonging to a same group as the first user heavier than user feedback provided by a user not belonging to the same group as the first user; automatically generating an updated community-based rating concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page based on the analysis; receiving, by a hardware processing unit of the Web server, a request for at least one of the Web site or the Web page from a second user; obtaining the updated community-based rating information associated with the at least one of the Web site or Web page; obtaining a user-specific Web filtering profile associated with the second user requesting the at least one of the Web site or the Web page; comparing the updated community-based rating information to the user-specific Web filtering profile; and either delivering the at least one of the Web site or the Web page to the second user or denying the request based on results of the comparison.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the community-based rating information relates to the appropriateness of the at least one of the Web site or the Web page for children.

9. A method for generating community-based rating information concerning network-accessible content, comprising: automatically generating an initial community-based rating concerning at least one of a Web site or a Web page; receiving, by a hardware processing unit of a Web server, user feedback from a first user regarding the at least one of the Web site or the Web page; analyzing, by a rating server, the user feedback from the first user in conjunction with user feedback provided by other users concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page, the analyzing including weighting user feedback provided by a user belonging to a same group as the first user heavier than user feedback provided by a user not belonging to the same group as the first user; automatically generating updated community-based rating information concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page based on the analysis; and storing, by a rating database, the updated community-based rating information for use in the performance of a Web filtering operation that includes either satisfying or denying subsequent user requests for the at least one of the Web site or the Web page.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the user feedback relates to the appropriateness of the at least one of the Web site or the Web page for children.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: providing the first user with an interface by which to provide the user feedback.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: displaying a current community-based rating associated with the at least one of the Web site or the Web page via the interface.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: validating the user feedback provided by the first user.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein automatically generating the initial community-based rating concerning the at least one of the Web site or the Web page comprises using an automated software tool.